Topaz Blue with cream leather seats. Hardtop included plus wind deflector, tonneau, etc. I just don't use the car since l started mountain biking in 2014.

The car is the best. It has not a single stone chip, genuine BMW mats over pristine black carpets, 56,000 miles, four new tyres, huge history file, chrome side grilles (originals available if you prefer) fully waxoyled....eat your dinner off the underside! (well, apart from the Waxoyl lol) £600 spent on detail items such as plastic parts trim items and bits and pieces.

If you look underneath you won't find any rusty screws or fasteners there either.

A shame to have it just sat in the garage on SORN

Last edited by lightning on Mon 30 Nov, 2015 08:17, edited 2 times in total.

I had the bonnet and front bumper resprayed at BMW, the job is so good that you would not detect it if l said nothing. I know they removed the bumper and took everything off as they sent me pictures via email which l printed off and put in the history file.
I also fitted the cruise control kit which is the best thing ever on a long motorway trip. The last owner had the car for six years and l have been in touch with him, he sent some pictures and receipts to me.

It's got a service history but since l bought it l've done it myself. I did a major service this Summer which included brake fluid, coolant, air filter, gearbox oil, differential oil, spark plugs and everything else in the book. (All parts receipts kept and old spark plugs available for inspection)

Another problem is, l have a boat, so when we go on holiday it's always in the Defender 110 so we don't use the Z3 then either.

The car has to be worth circa £8,000 with the hardtop, that's what a specialist Z3 dealer has offered a few months ago. Of course now l am actually interested in selling, he's got too much stock at the moment to buy mine.

I will be open to reasonable offers. The pristine hardtop and fitting kit (which l have never used) would sell for £800-1000. And the car needs nothing at all so no need to budget for catch-up maintenance or parts.

"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"

The last but one owner had the car since 2008. Then the last owner had it for 12 months. There's a very large history file and service history.

I've done the servicing myself since l bought it. It's a very easy car to service yourself.

I bought the car in early 2014 and have done two services since then. This year was a full service including gearbox/diff oil, brake and clutch fluid, spark plugs, coolant etc. and reset the service lights.

If I was local to you I would pop round to have a look, but I'm 165 miles away. So let me be straight, I'm looking for a nice 3.0cc but want one without too many owners and it's got to have a decent enough service history to back up the low mileage.

Owners about seven l think. Looks like the first five years has three owners then one owner for five years. Most of the mileage is in the first few years (only 20,000 since 2006) Just as a matter of interest, why are you bothered about how many owners it's had?

A lot of these kind of cars have a new owner every other Summer and is a second or third car, garaged for sunny days. Looking at the mileage since 2006 from the MOT's and the general condition of the underside etc (as in no rust) it seems to have been the case with this one.

I bought a one owner Lotus Elise and it needed a whole hill of work. My Ferrari had had about twelve previous owners but it was as good as they get.

I do have the original service book, the stamps are initially all BMW then specialist (with receipts). I have a sheaf of old MOT's and they back up the mileage, l can also give you the details of the last but one owner who owned it for five years, he sent me some pictures and receipts etc.
Also the garage who did the MOT in April this year, as they said it was the best one they'd seen. Oh, and the driver's seat bolster is mint as well!
The carpets are like new, with no sign that feet have ever touched them.

Looking at the history file and photo's it's clearly had BMW overmats since new, when l got it they were missing so l called the supplier in the history file who had supplied the last set in 2006 and they had stopped doing BMW parts but had one pair of NOS genuine BMW ones in black gathering dust.....l got them for £35!

PM me your email address and l'll send you some pictures taken at a car show this Summer.

Last edited by lightning on Fri 27 Nov, 2015 23:50, edited 2 times in total.

I agree with Lightning (well I would, my M has had ten owners). I understand a feeling that a car with loads of previous may be a lemon that is quickly shifted on by each successive keeper but on the other hand each new owner will have loved the car to bits, at least for a while, and done everything necessary whilst still keen.
The low miles M car with very few owners I looked at had quite a history and being with one person for a long time is certainly no guarantee of having been looked after immaculately anymore than a selection of owners is.
I've also been there are done it. I had a Porsche 993 for just a year, then recession happened and whoosh it was gone. I also had my 2.8 for a year then upgraded to the M. They are toys after all.

I've got £600 of receipts on parts l've bought just to detail it, such as wheel nuts, tread plates, door seals, sidelights, screws, bolts, clips, fasteners, and sundry trim items.
Plus a further £260 on new rear tyres (the fronts were new when l got it) and £150 to treat the underside with clear Waxoyl, £60 to get a couple of minor car park dents out of the passenger door, £550 at BMW's main dealer bodyshop to remove and respray the front bumper and bonnet (pictures of the work being done) etc

Most people would have not had it done, as it was only minor stone chips, but l wanted it to be perfect.

Thanks for the info, I tried to pm you when your ad first went up, I gave up, don't know why this site makes it so difficult to pm someone. I'm on other forums and have no problems.

I know these types of cars often have many owners, I'm just fussy and want a car that will sell easily when the time comes.

I once had a Volvo estate with 6 previous owners and no dealers would touch it.

I sold my Cayman in April this year, that had 5 previous and I can tell you, that put quite a few people off, even though the dealer who did eventually buy said it was beautiful.

Your car does sound lovely, but I'm going to wait for one to come along with less owners, even if it is more expensive.

I have one Z3 already, tucked away in my garage as a future investment, it is so clean it's too good to use on our winter roads. I'm certain the nice examples of these cars are going to slowly rise in value.

I have room for one more, it'll either be a 3.0 Z3 or a 205 gti, but the latter seem to already have shot up and the last few I went to see were not nice enough.

I wish I had more undercover storage as I think certain cars are better investments than money earning a pittance of interest in the bank.

Thesurveyor wrote:
I've also been there are done it. I had a Porsche 993 for just a year, then recession happened and whoosh it was gone. I also had my 2.8 for a year then upgraded to the M. They are toys after all.

Oh dear, the 993's are now silly money, went with a friend to buy one in 2007 that was £18,000. I think that car today would now be worth over 30k

I owned a Renault Spider at the time, had it for a year and sold it on, they are now worth 10k more than what I sold it for, kicking myself...

Quote "your car does sound lovely, but l'm going to wait for one with less owners"

I don't want to go on, but did you not even look at the condition of my car or the pictures of it? You are rejecting a show winning car outright because it's had six owners?

I can see why a six owner Cayman might be hard to move on, but they are a current model. The Z3 has not been made since 2003.

Maybe on a newer car that you are going to part exchange at a dealer, the Z3 has gone past that stage into modern classic status. It's too old for a car dealer to take it in, they'll just trade it on or send it to the block unless they are a Z3 specialist.

TBH mine is too good to use on winter roads also....maybe have two cars you don't use is impractical unless you have the garage space.

My Porsche 928 S4 had ten previous owners and my Mondial t had twelve. Both cars were a little over the age of my Z3 but nobody even asked about the number of owners. Both cars sold very quickly but they were very good ones. I am not sure about the investmant potential of Z3's.
Maybe the M version, but who knows, you'd probably be better tucking a low end Ferrari away such as a 348 or a 308 GT4.

I've never understood why the number of previous owners affects reseal. Sure, a "one owner from new" sounds appealing in terms of you having a complete history from buying it, but on a second hand car, especially at this age, it's all down to the condition as it is now.

when I got my zed as a cat C no log book sent off a few beer voucher to dvla they sent me a list of all the past owners I'm the 6th but 3 of the past owners are BMW dealers , probably why she is in very good condition apart from a slight twist in the bonnet when you look straight on
peter2b

The number of owners doesn't really affect resale, on older/classic cars. As you say it is down to the condition now.

Plus the Z3 is not a high value car, l am selling late build top model (not counting the M) with a hardtop and all the options/extras, as good condition as you'd get for no more than the price of an old MX5.

Maybe on an Aston or similar where you are paying £30,000+ you'd get more interest in a low owner example. However in the end, buyers are free to buy what they want.

I recently bought a ten year old Defender 110. I never asked about the number of owners but it's had seven! The Defender is an absolutely lovely example, the best l've seen and just as good as the Defender 90 l sold to buy it, that we'd owned eight years from new.

Last edited by lightning on Mon 30 Nov, 2015 08:21, edited 2 times in total.

Thats a rare and beautiful interior and in great condition. Add in the the style 78 wheels, the hard top, low mileage (but no too low that's it's been sat around for years) and the the recent maintenance work I think it's a good price.

The hard top and full fitting kit fetches close to 1k on its own.

Lovely car, I'm sure it will sell at that price just bear in mind it's tough time of year. With all the articles this year talking about Z's in classic car mags you can be sure spring time next year will see a brisk trade in these (and more MX5's succumb to winter rust!).

Actually it wasn't that clean in those pictures, as l'd just driven back from my dad's where l'd stayed overnight, and the roads were wet from rain.
Those pictures were actually taken last year, the car is better now! The interior photo was taken just after l got it, as l took the hardtop off and it's not been on since.

Nice looking car - most soft tops whatever the make usually have had more owners simply because some people will buy them at the start of summer have their fuss out of them and then decide they want to sell. Wouldn't bother me at all, how many owners have had, as from the look of the condition they have looked after it, and so have you. Wish I had 8 grand to spare at the moment, but as someone already said it's a bad time to sell and the weather doesn't help. Just sorned mine today - so I can start to do one or two jobs I have been wanting to do - slight oil leak from timing cover (will do the chain at the same time), replace discs and pads all round, and the front and rear suspension.

True, but then again, it's a good time to buy one! I suppose it works opposite to 4x4s, whose prices tend to rise as the winter approaches. Hopefully you'll find a buyer who'll see your (great) car as a bargain to snap up before prices start creeping up come spring.
Good luck with the sale,

You have a good point 'most people on here already have one'.
I only looked at Z forums after I saw the Z I wanted on Pistonheads classifieds.
The seller had links to the build thread on various forums but when searching for a car I looked at autotrader and Pistoneheads. I guess Gumtree is also popular these days and Ebay classifieds.
Ads on Z forums too is a good idea though. Classic car sites could be a good place too.

I see you car as 6k car + 1k for the top +1k for all the maintenance and condition.
When you break it down like that it's a well priced car but people generally only see the headline price..

I would offer the hardtop and fitting kit seperately to reduce the headline price (which is what the previous owner of mine did but I negotiated that he 'throw in' the top if I paid full asking price..)

There was somebody who was interested in it earlier this year, and we stalled as they offered £6,000 without the hardtop and my bottom line was a bit higher than that.

Buyers need to look at the fact that all the work has been done on this Z3, including a major service this Summer. And all the things you need to do when you buy most cars of this type, have been done. Including four new tyres.

That alone has to be worth an extra £1,000. But people tend to ignore that kind of thing for some reason. I sent one potential buyer a list of all the things that had been done, and they never responded to that part of the email at all.

Their reply just asked how long the MOT was on it (runs out in March but l'll MOT it if you want)

When I bought mine I paid a 'premium' for it over similar mileage cars because all the major jobs where done and it was freshly serviced (all fluids etc).

I've bought enough used cars to value current maintenance and condition. I've bought 'cheaper' cars that needed many little jobs doing and in the end some of them worked out ok but others cost more than buying a better 'expensive' one.
If you can do many jobs yourself and don't need the car daily then a cheaper one with work needed is worth a punt.
I suspect at this price range though people will want a car that is ready to use for summer (hence people pay some silly dealer prices in the hope the work has been done and the warranty is worth it..).

I think you price is good, just need to market it in places where buyers who have had some buying experience look and can appreciate the car for what it is today.
Although honestly I'd be looking to keep it. Even if you only get a 1000 miles a year done, it's great miles.
Get a tow at bike rack fitted and problem solved!

I have seen a tow bar for a jet ski fitted back in 2011 (the car was for sale in the midlands, a black 3.0 if I recall correct) and believe there was a very rare factory option but a good towing shop can probably engineer a purpose made set up if it just for bikes. The car sold before I could look at it, I liked the practicality it offered. Topless runs down to the tip and all that!

Rear bumpers are cheap and plentiful (try finding a decent front one though!). You can pick one up under £50 usually so you can sacrifice that instead if cutting is needed. Really simple job to put a bumper on and off too. These cars are like Mecano sets in that regard!

Boot mounted luggage rack could work too. I've looked at getting another boot lid to sacrifice (the best way to secure the luggage rack is holes in the boot lid I believe). Again boot lids are plentiful and easy to swap out so totally reversible.

I would need to tow a 5x4 or 6x4 foot trailer as it would need to take two bikes, a boat (rolled up in a large bag) the boat's removable floor sections, and my Tohatsu 9.8hp outboard motor.

I also have two Land Rover Defenders so you can see why the Z3 is not getting the use. I can get everything in the back of the 110 without needing a trailer, although it takes some work to fit it all in.

Last edited by lightning on Fri 04 Dec, 2015 12:07, edited 1 time in total.

lightning wrote:I would need to tow a 5x4 or 6x4 foot trailer as it would need to take two bikes, a boat (rolled up in a large bag) the boat's removable floor sections, and my Tohatsu 9.8hp outboard motor.

But we go to Scotland/Norfolk/Cornwall with the boat, and it would be great to have the Z3 with us, particularly in Scotland.
Also it would make for a better journey although towing a trailer it would be no faster.
I love driving the Land Rover, but this year we were at Loch Sween on the West Coast and the Z3 3.0 would have been fabulous up there.

Last edited by lightning on Fri 04 Dec, 2015 12:27, edited 1 time in total.

Dino D wrote:I see you car as 6k car + 1k for the top +1k for all the maintenance and condition.

I think you have over-estimated the last two.

If the car is perfect, I agree with the £6k. In my experience, though, perfect cars aren't perfect. There was a £33k M Coupe in Sytners about six months ago that was very shiny and looked perfect - but it wasn't . I've never seen a perfect car, but I look forward to the day .

Hard tops AND kits can be had for less than £1k. A hardtop (on its own is £500 in the wrong colour and £750 in the correct colour).

Maintenance is not worth £1k, unless the future buyer is planning to use BMW. DIY is £200, Indy is £500 tops.

The time of year is the biggest hurdle at the moment. The car is not a Z1. Another one will be around in the summer when the potential buyer wants one. I will be very impressed if you get the price you are asking before April. The wallets will come out when the sun does .

I also have two Land Rover Defenders so you can see why the Z3 is not getting the use. I can get everything in the back of the 110 without needing a trailer, although it takes some work to fit it all in.

But we go to Scotland/Norfolk/Cornwall with the boat, and it would be great to have the Z3 with us, particularly in Scotland.
Also it would make for a better journey although towing a trailer it would be no faster.
I love driving the Land Rover, but this year we were at Loch Sween on the West Coast and the Z3 3.0 would have been fabulous up there.

Kind of agree with the maintenance "worth £200" but l am not really talking about servicing, l am referring to the other things that you generally need to do when you buy an older car.
Although a major service if recently done will save you a lot more than £200.

There are plenty of Z3's around for sale at any time but not in the condition this one is.

Last edited by lightning on Fri 04 Dec, 2015 14:58, edited 1 time in total.

But we go to Scotland/Norfolk/Cornwall with the boat, and it would be great to have the Z3 with us, particularly in Scotland.
Also it would make for a better journey although towing a trailer it would be no faster.
I love driving the Land Rover, but this year we were at Loch Sween on the West Coast and the Z3 3.0 would have been fabulous up there.

Get a big trailer and put the Z3 and all the other stuff on it!

Well, the 110 would easily tow a Z3 on a trailer! It has a maximum towing weight (braked trailer) of 3500kg.